Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Is it possible to experience a mirage for your ears? After listening to Leopard On My Right a number of times, I think I am witness to a refraction of sound. Listening to this cassette closely resembles staring at a distant Fata Morgana. The sounds of each track rapidly change within these spools, still maintaining a rooted consistent groove to bring them all together. There are moments of a late light celebration of Tuareg music. The B side of this cassette pushes strongly in that direction. This is exemplified not only by the sound but the track titles as well, like "Nomad Status". The A side is steady in mood, and reminds me a little bit of listening to the incredible 936 album by Peaking Lights. As a whole, Leopard On My Right never stops. The diversity is immense, the rhythm is hypnotic, the vocals are beckoning with thick and dense guitar. A tape you will just keep flipping and always go back to.

This is the second release by Filthy Huns. Both releases are on the super cool label Not Not Fun. This cassette is sold out at the Not Not Fun shop, but should show up in limited quantities at the usual distributors like Midheaven & Tomentosa. Maybe Not Not Fun will combine both releases on one vinyl album. I am sure this would be a speedy record to sell out. If you do see the cassette for sale, be sure to purchase it. There have been some great tapes for 2014 and this is one of them.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Stellar drifting to an orchestrated consonance of sound. Glass House uses a wide array of mechanics creating a dense molecular, salt strewn, ambient classical piece. Thick drones fill the background and sit at the bottom of this sound ocean. The currents at the top are controlled by well tuned musicians with some serious knowledge and experience. The overall tone is slightly foreboding, with sound safety nets cast out for moments of recovery. Overall this cassette keeps the listener slowly swirling in a beautiful maelstrom of precise composition. Pleasing Prince Dakkar on his voyage. Glass House knows exactly the mood they are after and Haruspex is a testament to that end.

This cassette was created in a batch of 80 by the super cool label Cosmic Winnetou. Every release they have is sold out at the label website. Fine confirmation of how good their decisions are at every level. Keep an eye out, there is a new batch due out soon.

Even though Haruspex is sold out at Cosmic Winnetou, you can still acquire this release from the Glass House bandcamp page. Not sure how many they have of the original 80, but they are for sale as this is posted. Also pretty sure Tomentosa will have the Haruspex tape on their site in the near future. Tomentosa has carried all of the Cosmic Winnetou releases.

Lastly Glass House has had three releases on Tranquility Tapes and one on SicSic Tapes. For anyone rolling around in the cassette culture world...... no need to say anymore.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Have you ever been positively relaxed on a sunny day, attention fixed on nothing more than rays of light and their interaction on this earthly plane? This is Stag Hare for me. Capturing in music nothing more than beautiful simple existence. Delightful drone filling your mind, mixing with seldom grasped feelings of the wondrous journey we are fortunate to partake.

The Djorna Trilogy is an impressive offering from Stag Hare, the project of Garrick Biggs. Three cassettes titled Angel Tech, Pongdools and Gazer. According to Garrick from the Stag Hare website, the trilogy is his second era of music. Everything before the Djorna Trilogy make up the first era while everything after starts the third era. These cassettes were produced in a run of 100 each. They are available now at the Stag Hare website and you can purchase all three, shipped to you in the States for twenty dollars. If you have not had the pleasure of being a Stag Hare fan, this is something i strongly recommend purchasing. If you have been listened to Stag Hare before, you probably already have the Djorna Trilogy and you are just nodding in agreement.

For the music on these three cassettes, i will start off with Gazer. There is no reason other than this was the way i listened to them. Gazer is without any doubt a classic piece of timeless drone stickiness. You will want to set this cassette aside for an uninterrupted listening experience. The tones exuding from Gazer are inspiring, contemplative and peaceful. Transcending musical history, this composition could be from anywhere and is absolutely relevant everywhere. Take a few moments for yourself and let these sounds help remove the haze of responsibility.

Following in the rotation was Pongdools, a entirely different ride than the blissful Gazer. On this cassette Stag Hare locks onto the signature doxology of the first era. Upbeat rhythm sustained for timeless lengths. This is music for movement, thinking and creating. Pongdools exist near the top of the mountain, perched on a ledge. There is still more to climb, but at this resting spot, the value of what has been traveled and what remains is key stoned. The sound is well crafted from experience, with visitations of new places to go. Driving beats overlaid with a wash of infinite sounds. This is a morning raga for future times. Pongdools helps me understand why Garrick has called this the second era of music.

Angel Tech is purely exalted from a reticulation of techno beats to undisturbed interludes of reflection. This cassette is completely diverse and does seem like the platform for the future third era of music. Within these spools are otherworldly beats leaving the drone to the background. Hazed vocals glaze these tracks. Every sound advocates Garrick's abilities are locking in place for a transformation of sound wave awareness. All of the tracks on Angel Tech resonate with emotion and are filled with merit. By no means leaving the roots, only adding more canopy to the tree.

This will be sold out soon, so please do not procrastinate. I say this from plenty of experience.